


Critical

by Anonamagal



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Getting Together, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Monsters & Mana (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 21:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18558196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonamagal/pseuds/Anonamagal
Summary: A game of Monsters and Mana takes an unexpected turn when Lance gets his first natural twenty.





	Critical

Meklavar was thrown across the room with another strike from the barbarian, her fall was cushioned slightly by Block’s magic.

‘This is mad!’ Block cries. ‘We can’t get close enough to do damage and he’s too fast for my spells to hit.’ Shiro goes in for another hit only for the barbarian to dodge nimbly and kick out at the paladin’s chest and send him tumbling back. A sword comes down in a wide arc directly for Shiro.

A puff of smoke shrouds Shiro and a cloak whips up and around him then he’s gone just before the sword meets his chest, a good distance away he reappears with Pike. 

‘You have saved my life.’ Shiro says in awe.

‘Yeah, yeah add it to my tab,’ Pike waves off dismissively, ‘but this guy is seriously OP!’ He yells at no one in particular, glaring. The barbarian must hear him though because he relaxes his stance and smirks. He swings his sword lazily and nimbly. 

‘Not my fault you guys are weak.’ He shrugs. Pike bristles, glare heating as he felt himself getting worked up. In a flash of light Pike disappears and the Barbarian’s grin drops, his stance becomes defensive again and eyes the battleground wearily. 

‘We,’ A shivers goes up his spine when he feels the whisper against his ear, he spins only to have his foot knocked out from under him, he stumbles but by the time he looks the rogue is gone, ‘are not,’ On his other side Pike appears again and takes out his other foot making him slam down onto the floor, knocking the breath out of him. And then Pike is in his face, smirking. ‘Weak.’ He finishes and then he disappears. 

He looks frantically around himself as he stumbles to his feet and stops when he spots Pike sitting casually on a rock holding a familiar pouch and spinning a very familiar blade.

‘I really hope you didn’t need this stuff, because I don’t do refunds.’ He drawls. The barbarian prepares to launch himself at the thief until he hears a commotion at his back and narrowly dodges a vicious downward strike of the dwarf’s axe.  
‘I don’t need a sword to win this fight.’ He growls before lunging at the dwarf and sending her flying once again.

‘Oh come on!’ Meklavar cries as she flies towards Block. He dodges magic blasts and enchanted arrows with ease, he side-steps the paladin’s strike, grabbing his arm and flipping him over his back, all while closing the distance between himself and the thief, who is still casually spinning his blade. 

*** 

‘Ok I call time out!’ Pidge yells, hands forming a T shape. ‘How is Keith’s character so strong? He’s only started playing.’ She shoots him an accusatory look. Keith holds his hands up defensively.

‘Coran made me the same level as you guys.’ He defends. 

‘Keith has been making some spectacular rolls, you lot, not so spectacular, well except for Lance.’ Coran announces.

‘Yeah, I have been the MVP this evening.’ He crows. ‘But seriously guys, I disarmed him and took away his items and you still can’t take him down.’ This makes Pidge defensive and she redirects her glare at Lance.

‘If you’re so good you do something then,’ She smirks. ‘Use your “charismatic ways” to seduce the barbarian.’ Immediately Lance’s face is engulfed in red.

‘What!? No way.’ 

‘You’ve tried to seduce every enemy we’ve faced until now.’ Allura points out.

‘And failed.’ Pidge adds with a smirk. 

‘But… but this is Keith’s character.’ He argues.

‘We’re struggling dude, we’re down to our last hit points and I’m not sure Shiro can come up with anymore names that rhyme with his.’ 

‘I have a whole alphabet of letters to chose from, thanks.’ Shiro mutters dryly with a deadpan look towards Hunk.

‘What do you want to do Lance, it’s your turn again and Keith’s character is approaching you?’ Coran prompts. He glances at Keith who is smiling smugly which only serves to piss him off, so he slams his hand down on the table over his dice and growls.

‘I try to seduce the barbarian.’ He declares. He’ll probably fail it, every time he’d tried before he’d rolled a critical fail. ‘If I fail, I’m blaming you guys for wasting my turn.’ He aims at Hunk, Pidge and Allura. And then he throws the die.  
He looks away from it, listening to the sound of it rattling before finally coming to a stop, he doesn’t peek until he hears Pidge whisper ‘Oh my Science.’ He looks and gapes. ‘He got a natural twenty!’ She crows.  
‘Oh my, Keith, you’d need to get a natural twenty to resist Pike’s charms.’ Coran giggles in excitement. Keith, with a scowl, throws his die without looking at it. 

Lance watches it like a hawk and when it finally titters on an edge and drops onto a side a slow grin begins to form on everyone’s face but Lance and Keith’s.  
‘A one.’ Pidge cackles. ‘Your first critical fail.’ She doubles over with laughter. ‘I can’t wait to see this.’ Keith glares down at his die like it’s personally offended him. 

Lance has an internal meltdown.

*** 

Pike begins to feel the fear when those deadly violet eyes zero in on him, with every brush off of his team mates attacks, the barbarian gets closer and closer, he tries to remain impassive but the itch to run is strong, but he resists it.

And then a single stray thought enters his mind, with thunder in his eyes and a burning strength in his body, unbidden, Pike thinks, he’s handsome. And see, the thing about Pike is that he’s always loved powerful people.  
So while his team get batted this way and that, Pike has time to think, and to admire. 

He stops spinning the blade and grips the handle tightly, he leans forward, resting an elbow on his thigh and lightly rests the hilt of the barbarian’s blade to his cheek. He smiles softly when the barbarian is now in front of him, breathing heavily and clearly battling the urge to lose himself to his rage. 

‘I’ve been thinking,’ Pike says, in a conversational manner when the other is in ear shot. ‘all this fighting is unnecessary, all it’s doing is making you angrier and probably more powerful, so I have a proposition for you.’ Pike slips off the rock and saunters up to the barbarian, he lowers his eyelids and smiles winningly, with his free hand he runs gentle fingers over the other man’s bicep and doesn’t fail to notice the shiver that passes over the barbarian from the slightest touch. ‘How about you and I work out our differences in a more,’ he pauses for effect, ‘enjoyable manner. You’ve got a lot of stamina packed away in these very shiny muscles of yours and a little secret about my people,’ He leans forwards with a coy smile. ‘We are insatiable.’

The barbarian watches him with those unnerving eyes, though Pike isn’t discouraged because there is a pinkness to his cheeks that makes him feel giddy.

***

‘Can I seduce Lance’s character too.’ Keith suddenly asks. Everyone turns to look at him in surprise before Coran breaks the silence with a small cough.

‘Of course, though your charisma isn’t as high so there is a chance that Pike will resist.’ 

‘I’ll take that chance.’ He says and rolls his die. Lance leans forward to watch it land, a nervous energy in the pit of his stomach. It lands on 20. Keith’s smug smile should infuriate him but… he shakes his head and reaches for his own die.

‘Twenty or higher Lance.’ Coran reminds him. He drops his die and he kind of expects it when it lands on a one. 

‘Wow, what a development.’ Coran gushes, ‘I didn’t expect there to be romance but I will gladly accommodate.’ He says, too excited for Lance’s liking.

Lance drops his head to the table with a groan.  
***  
Suddenly the Barbarian grins at Pike, his eyes darkening with hunger, they sweep over Pike and Pike trembles from the look alone. Oh no, the seduction had been a ploy but he hadn’t expected to want it this much.

‘Alright.’ He says with a drawl. ‘If you think you can keep up.’ 

Pike’s grin widens and he leans further into the Barbarian’s space, lips a couple of inches apart.

‘I’m also extremely flexible, in case that was of any interest to you.’ Pike purrs. Violet eyes narrow and his pupils sharpen to small points and Pike considers it a victory. The barbarian lunges forward and scoops Pike up into his arms, Pike titters because had he mentioned he has a very, very, strong weakness to powerful people, he locks his arms around his neck and giggles.

‘When I am done with you,’ The barbarian growls, ‘you’ll want no other.’ Pike flushes red and his smile turns shy.

‘Promises, promises.’ He sings. ‘But can you deliver.’ He teases. 

‘I’ll make you mine.’ Is the growled response and something in Pike reacts in very primal way because his heart hiccups and he purrs in anticipation. 

‘Yeah, ok, yours.’ He breathes, dazed, eyes locked with his.

And then they start moving, into the woods, together.

In the clearing, where the fight had taken place the rest of the team look on in varying degrees of shock and confusion.

‘What just happened?’ Block asks, looking around at the others.

‘Pike actually managed to charm someone.’ Allura comments.

‘Is… he coming back?’ Shiro asks in concern. ‘Should we wait?’

A broken moan echoes out from the trees and everyone’s faces turn interesting shades of red, Meklavar looks slightly ill.

‘Perhaps we should wait further in the opposite direction.’ Allura suggests. Hurriedly they all agree and head off until they can no longer hear Pike and his Barbarian.

It’s sometime later when Pike stumbles across them, his cloak wrapped loosely around his hips to protect his modesty, his tail swinging lazily behind, smiling like a cat that got the cream.

‘So update, Thunder is joining our party, and also this might take a while so you guys can go ahead and we’ll catch up in the next town. See ya!’ He yells over his shoulder as he disappears back into the forest.  
The rest of the team exchange looks and simultaneously sigh before collecting their things and heading off for the next town. 

‘Is it a bad idea to leave Pike alone with a barbarian who was trying to kill us?’ Block asks, nervously wringing his hands.

‘It’s Pike’s choice,’ Meklavar says, ‘for a feline, his self-preservation skills are shocking so if he dies, he probably had it coming.’ 

*** 

Keith sat with a hand covering half of his face very pointedly looking away from all the others while Lance was hunched over the table with his head buried in his arms, the tips of his ears glowing red.  
Pidge was cackling madly, delighted by their embarrassment.

‘I cannot believe…’ she wheezes. ‘…that happened.’

Beside her Hunk was trying his hardest to hold back laughter, all while patting Lance on the back sympathetically.

‘That was… um… creative story telling Coran.’ Shiro says awkwardly, offering Keith a vague shrug when Keith glowers at him.

‘Yes, I do love a bit of romance, and with roles like those I foresee a great romance in the making.’ Coran rubbed his hands together with a calculating look on his face. At this Lance’s head pops up and he gapes.

‘You mean there’s going be more of this, Pike and Thunderstorm Darkness –’ He cuts himself off and glares at Keith. ‘Dude could you not have picked a better name?’

‘I didn’t choose it.’ Keith bites back.

‘Whatever,’ Lance waves away and points at Coran. ‘You’re not planning to add a Pike and Thunder romance are you?’

‘Oh absolutely my lad, I cannot ignore the will of the critical rolls, it’ll be a love story like no other.’

‘And I think it’s time to call it a night.’ Shiro announces with his hands up placatingly. With groans they all gather up their stuff and start heading off in different directions, except Lance and Keith, who end up walking the same way. They walk in silence, occasionally side eyeing each other, neither of them brave enough to bring up the game.

It’s only when they reach Lance’s door that Lance gives up and throws Keith a smirk. 

‘Want to see just how flexible I can be?’ And there. The offers out there, an unspoken thing between them they’d been ignoring for a long time but Lance doesn’t thinks he’s wrong, Keith had played along after all.

Keith sputters in surprise, gaping at him with a reddening face. Lance continues to grin even though the nerves are eating him up on the inside. Keith stops, takes a deep breath in an effort to compose himself and then he meets Lance’s gaze head on and huffs out a small chuckle. 

‘Yeah, I would.’ He says and Lance relaxes in relief, he grabs Keith’s hand and blindly opens his door with the other, he drags him in and Keith chuckles and just before the door slides closed Lance leans in and kisses Keith.


End file.
